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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28651800">ain't nothing come easy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IridiumPhoenix/pseuds/IridiumPhoenix'>IridiumPhoenix</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>scp au [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - SCP Foundation, Depression, Dimension Travel, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Panic Attacks, Video Game Mechanics, au meets canon, basically just exile arc pain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:54:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,409</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28651800</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IridiumPhoenix/pseuds/IridiumPhoenix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He hesitated on the next words, but knew them to be true no matter the universe. “We’re friends, right?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>scp au [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>ain't nothing come easy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>au notes before we begin:</p><p>tubbo is bees. he's just bees.</p><p>tommy gains power from playing his discs - cat lets him grow and control plants, and mellohi lets him slow down time. he's not allowed to play them basically ever though because he instantly tries to containment breach when given even the slightest amount of power.</p><p>title is from Theseus by The Oh Hellos (a very good and cool song)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When the rip in the fabric of space-time that Phil accidentally opened began spitting out mirror versions of his friends, Tubbo left. It was one thing when the only things coming through were perfectly square blocks of dirt and oddly shaped sheep, it was another when Dream’s messed-up twin emerged and started threatening everyone with a wickedly sharp axe. Mirror-Bad came through not much later and scolded him into submission (to everyone’s relief) but Tubbo was already bees and flying out of there back to his room. It was too much and too loud for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being one consciousness in many bodies helped with the anxiety. Worldly problems seemed much farther away when divided many times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bees that made up Tubbo had spent a delightful few hours in their containment unit, buzzing around the flowers and generally having a good time, when the next interruption came. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the room burst open, hitting the wall violently and almost rebounding into the figure diving through. The intruder hit the ground and scrambled to his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out...a handful of stones? A few bees drifted closer to get a better look, as Tubbo’s vision was not the best when seen through hundreds of insectoid eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The intruder then made an odd throwing motion and two large stone squares appeared in front of Tubbo’s door, blocking it off completely in a maneuver Tubbo had only seen Ranboo pull off. One of the otherworldly visitors, then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The person collapsed with his back to the stone blocks, his chest heaving. For the first time his face was clear, and Tubbo could identify him as Tommy, his best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or a version of him, anyway. Even as a swarm of bees Tubbo could see the grime and exhaustion layered on Tommy’s face, the ragged clothes and the too-visible ribs he could make out under them. Something terrible had happened to this Tommy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of Tubbo began to cautiously make their way over to the boy from the corner they had retreated to. Alt-Tommy eyed them with suspicion. “What the hell are bees doing here?” He scowled at them. “You’re smaller than the bees back home. Is this why you’re here? SCP number whatever: mini bees?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo materialized in front of him. “Actually, my bees are perfectly normal--” He was cut off by a high pitched screech and a chipped iron sword manifested directly in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You-- what-- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo??”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alt-Tommy got progressively squeakier and more panicked with each stuttered out word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo raised his hands. “Hey, it’s okay! Is your Tubbo not bees, then?” Alt-Tommy looked at him like he was insane. Tubbo tried again. “Um, are you alright? I can’t help but notice you’ve blocked off my door, which is-- I mean it’s not ideal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then there was the sound of footsteps down the hall and a faint voice calling Tommy’s name. Alt-Tommy frantically placed more blocks around the door and made a shushing motion at Tubbo. He hesitated for a moment, but obliged after seeing the sheer terror on Alt-Tommy’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They waited in silence until the footsteps faded into the distance. Alt-Tommy let out a huge breath and mumbled “Dream’s out there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Is that a bad thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alt-Tommy gave a bordering-on-hysterical laugh. “Of course that’s a bad thing? He’s-- oh god he’s going to be so mad, why did I run off, stupid that was stupid how could I be so--” He was hyperventilating, the words coming out in an unintelligible flood that threatened to drown the both of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo reached out to put a comforting hand on Alt-Tommy’s shoulder, but he flinched away harshly, clutching the sword again. For a moment they just stared at each other, wild eyes meeting confused ones. Slowly, Tubbo reached out again, carefully telegraphing his motions. When his hand met Alt-Tommy’s shoulder the boy gave a violent shudder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alt-Tommy stared at him like he was a ghost, something that couldn’t possibly be real. Tubbo smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” He hesitated on the next words, but knew them to be true no matter the universe. “We’re friends, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He crumbled in an instant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo caught Alt-Tommy as he fell forward. The mirror version of his best friend was shaking, caving in on himself like he was trying to shrink down to nothing. Tubbo could only hold him and wonder helplessly, “Tommy...what happened to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The story came out in fits and starts, bit off sentences expanding into a narrative that made Tubbo cringe in horror. He listened as Alt-Tommy told of a nation turned to rubble by betrayal and insanity, of a version of Tubbo that had to make an impossible choice between his duties and his best friend, of time spent utterly alone but for the shell of a dead brother and the smiling mask that came to cheerfully rob him every day. He clutched Alt-Tommy even tighter when he heard about the boy’s struggle with hopelessness as his friends slowly stopped visiting and his acceptance that Dream was the only one who truly cared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t, I don’t know if he cared or if it was another lie,” Alt-Tommy gasped out. “But he came to see me every day so he must have, right? Why else-- why else would he keep coming back?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The story ended with Alt-Tommy escaping into the wilderness, traveling north towards where Techno was rumored to be hiding. That had been over a week ago. He hadn’t seen a single other person the whole time. And then he was transported here, to an unfamiliar room not only filled with people he was running from but another whole set of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two sat in silence for a while. Tubbo had seen a lot of horrible things after spending almost his entire life in one facility or another, but to see a version of his best friend so broken down was without a doubt one of the worst. He definitely wasn’t ready to handle this kind of situation and wasn’t sure how he could help beyond giving empty reassurances.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while, Alt-Tommy sighed and gave a dry chuckle. “The most fucked up part is, I never even got my discs back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo shot bolt upright. “You don’t have your discs??” This was absolutely unthinkable. A Tommy without music discs had to break some kind of law of the universe. He began pulling Alt-Tommy to his feet. “That’s it, we’re going to find Tommy-- uh, the one from here-- and we’re going to listen to those discs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alt-Tommy looked stunned, and then nervous. “I don’t want to see anyone else though,” he mumbled with the beginnings of a blush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, if anyone tries to stop us I’ll just bees and swarm them. You can make a run for it in the commotion,” Tubbo said matter-of-factly, and dissolved into bees to demonstrate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two made their way through the halls stealthily, unbothered by all but a group of scientists who immediately turned around and walked quickly in another direction after spotting them. Tubbo might not have one of the scariest abilities on the site, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still strike fear into the hearts of men!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By some miracle, Tommy was in his containment unit when they arrived. He and Alt-Tommy loudly exclaimed “What the fuck?!” in unison upon seeing each other, so Tubbo rushed through an explanation of their situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy looked dubious. “You know I would love to listen to my discs, but they haven’t allowed me a record player in months, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There went that plan. “Maybe we could get Phil to create one…?” Tubbo suggested half-heartedly. Phil was most likely trying to figure out what went wrong with the portal, so surely he didn’t have time to--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you mean a jukebox?” Tommy and Tubbo whipped around to face the interdimensional visitor, who was holding another small square in his hand. He made the throwing motion and suddenly, there was a full sized record player just sitting in the middle of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo looked at Tommy. “Get your discs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Sam and Phil arrived several hours later, they found the room covered in vines, a pile of teenagers sleeping on the bed, and the soft notes of cat floating through the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe fixing the portal could wait for just a bit longer.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is actually the first one i wrote in this series, weirdly enough. so if you're wondering why it's formatted a little differently than everything else that's why! i'm probably going to write more in this little crossover event soon, as that kind of dimension travel thing is one of my favorite tropes. i also might write something that's not scp au soon (shocked gasp) so look out for that if you're interested!</p><p>as usual, credit for this au goes to @157-bees, an incredibly cool person with incredibly cool pronouns!</p><p>next up (probably): "human rights violations are ok actually" - the o5</p></blockquote></div></div>
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